Egypt faces many challenges as it heads for elections on 28 November, writes Atul Aneja. Will democracy endure? Can another military coup to bring back ‘stability’ be ruled out? Will the country slide into a theocracy?

Kenya’s foray into Somalia, led from behind by US Africa Command (AFRICOM), ‘represents a heightened threat to peace and reconstruction in Africa, especially East Africa’, argues Horace Campbell. AFRICOM’s attempts at remilitarisation will not solve Africa’s problems, says Campbell, when 'the root cause' of the ‘threats to stability and security challenges’ across the continent is ‘the exploitation and plunder’ of its resources.

‘The right to education is a fundamental human right, inseparable from people’s aspirations to a full and a wholly authentic democracy,’ argues Samir Amin.

Lack of transparency, resulting in inadequate regulation, underpins the current global financial crisis, argues Charles Abugre. The secrecy ultimately hurts the poor and erodes the social contract that underpins government accountability to deliver to citizens.

A Tanzanian opposition leader surrendered to police Wednesday (09 November) after leading a protest calling for the release of one its members and the resignation of President Jakaya Kikwete. Freeman Mbowe, who heads the CHADEMA party, and scores of supporters staged a demonstration Monday in the country's northern town of Arusha demanding the release of one of its officials and that Kikwete steps down. The party accuses the president of using security forces to disrupt its activities.

Cash-strapped Swaziland will struggle to pay civil servants' salaries this month, Finance Minister Majozi Sithole told AFP, as the tiny kingdom slips deeper into crisis. 'We will do our best to pay at the end of November but it is difficult. We have serious fiscal challenges right now,' Sithole said. Swaziland fell into crisis after losing 60 per cent of its revenue from a regional customs union last year.

The political situation in North Africa remains complex even after the events of the Arab Spring. David Porter attempts to draw lessons for the region from Algeria’s experience two decades ago.

Equatoguinean president Teodoro Obiang has proposed several changes to the constitution of Equatorial Guinea, including establishing a limit of two terms of seven years on the presidency, creating the office of vice-president, adding a second chamber to parliament, and creating a 'Court of Auditors' to oversee government programs, contracts and expenditures. This post lists the proposed changes.

The report tracks Mozambique’s progress since it acceded to the APRM process in March 2003 up to when it was eventually peer reviewed in June 2009. The authors urge the government of Mozambique to show political will and act upon the pronouncements made in their National Programme of Action document to ensure that governance is strengthened and democracy is deepened, by addressing corruption, and promoting plural participation in public institutions and processes as well as reducing over dependency on foreign aid.

The ninth Southern African Forum Against Corruption (Safac) annual general meeting which took place in Windhoek made an urgent call on SADC members to implement the SADC Protocol Against Corruption. Safac chair Dr Edward Hoseah blamed the non-functioning SADC Committee on Corruption (SACC) for the delay in the implementation of the protocol at the opening of the event. 'The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol Against Corruption and its implementation is our litmus test for effective measures in our region. The willingness of our political masters to heighten and fast-track the implementation of the SADC Protocol is extremely fundamental to manage our citizens’ expectations,' he stressed.

Rasna Warah cautions that, if Kenyans cannot see the link between government failure and the rise of home-grown terrorism, then the military project of eliminating Al-Shabaab in the country and across the border in Somalia will go nowhere.

Bongani Masuku believes that Swaziland has reached a point of no return. The momentum towards democracy and a society free of corruption and royal abuse in the name of culture is irreversible.

Following the fall of Tripoli and the rise of the National Transitional Council, a rejuvenated national resistance has begun on Libya’s borders, writes Franklin Lamb.

The Party of Wall Street has raged on for decades, writes David Harvey, academic and renowned teacher of Karl Marx's 'Capital'. Now is the time for the values of the Occupy Movement to rise up.

The government of South Sudan has arrested the Chairman of the United Democratic Forum (UDF), Mr. Peter Abdurrahman Chule, whom it accused of attempting to recruit youths for a rebellion against the government in Juba. Radio Miraya, a UN-funded radio reporting from Juba, capital of South Sudan, reported that Mr Chule was arrested last week at his hideout in Western Equatoria State. Ironically, Mr Chule was one of the most ardent advocates for separation before independence in 2011, and was even against the moderate line of giving unity and separation equal chances as stipulated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has told journalists that the national executives of all three political parties in the inclusive government will meet to discuss the worsening political violence in the country. ZANU PF Central Committee members and their counterparts from the national executive councils of the MDC-T and MDC-N are expected to attend. The meeting follows the violent disturbances witnessed when members of the notorious ZANU PF Chipangano gang attacked MDC-T supporters preparing for a rally at Chibuku Stadium in Chitungwiza.

Reflecting on the fact that significant segments of the population are fundamentally excluded from society due to poverty and inequality, the 2010 Ibrahim Index of African Governance recently handed Malawi an abysmal score of two out of 10. There is legislation aimed at protecting families from falling on hard times, such as the Employment Act and the recently amended Pension Bill. However, according to a 2010 report by the International Labour Office in Geneva, 90 per cent of Malawians - more than 13 million people – work outside the formal economy.

Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza has sacked six ministers from his cabinet for poor performance, his spokesman said. When he was sworn in for his five-year second term, President Nkurunziza said that each government official will report on tasks accomplished every six months, adding that those who failed to do so would be fired.

Malawi has increased fuel prices by an average 27 per cent, a move likely to trigger broader inflation in the southern African nation that has already seen violent protests this year because of the dire state of the economy. Fuel shortages and the soaring cost of imported goods caused unprecedented demonstrations in July against President Bingu wa Mutharika, whose security forces killed 20 people in an ensuing crackdown.

Eritrea’s president has asked for a personal hearing before the UN Security Council in a bid to head off new sanctions over alleged support for Somalia’s Islamist rebels, diplomats said. Rival Ethiopia has been calling for tougher action against Eritrea for several months after its neighbor was linked to a plot to bomb an African Union summit in Addis Ababa.